Connecting Kilkenny to an enviable and vibrant quality of life by listening to, nurturing and supporting communities.
We’re lucky. Kilkenny is a brilliant place to live. Blessed with beauty, heritage and plenty of people who care, we have strong foundations to build on.
Sustainable living begins with a careful look at how society used to function. In 1996, 40% of children aged between 13 and 18 years travelled to school by bike. Since then, traffic and the design of our built environment have reduced these numbers significantly because people no longer feel safe cycling. It’s within our power to reverse this and encourage people to cycle once again.
Many of the towns in Kilkenny have a dedicated Town Team/Community Group who volunteer to work with the council to improve their local area. From dedicated cycle lanes to new community spaces, these Town Teams/Community Groups can have a significant impact on the fabric of a community.
Piltown is a great example of this
Under funding from the DRCD (Department for Community and Rural Development) and the RRDF (Rural Regeneration Development Fund), The Old Creamery in the town centre is undergoing a €1.3M investment that will transform the distinctive stone building into a social enterprise and community space.
Along with disability parking, EV parking and cycling bays, the area around it will benefit from enhanced urban design, the planting of an avenue of trees along the main street, the development of a central junction and the installation of more lighting.
Under DRCD (Department of Community and Rural Development) Town & Village Funding, Piltown’s long abandoned Garda station is a heritage building and a protected structure. Spurred on by the local community group, this building is being refurbished to retain a Garda station in Piltown and develop a remote working hub for up to 20 people - perfect for locals who don’t want to travel far but also don’t want to work at home.
Construction has begun and it should be finished by Q3 2024.
The Ten Minute City Concept
It means that every person has the basics of what they need to live within a ten minute walk or cycle.
Kilkenny Municipal District has been working on developing the 10 Minute City concept within the city itself since 2014.
Kilkenny’s 10 Minute City concept is supported by an evidence-based movement strategy which includes the following principles and interventions:
- Increase permeability and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists in the city.
- Provide bus priority measures including bus lanes and bus gates (a short section of road that only bus and authorised vehicles can travel on) and Intelligent Transport Systems.
- Actively discourage vehicular through-traffic in the urban core while still allowing access for users with accessibility issues, commercial activities and emergency vehicles.
With Kilkenny City having few hills and a compact urban form with 75% of the population living within 2 km of the city centre, the 10 Minute City will work well here.
It’s our challenge to give this larger population and the next generation of our own families, places to live, work and play while also protecting the integrity of the Kilkenny that attracted them in the first place.
Connected through walkways, cycle paths and plans for an improved, expanded, more frequent city bus service.
This has recently been updated with the 5th neighbourhood - those who live in the city core itself.
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Loughboy/Archerstreet
Newpark Upper/Eastern Environs
Poulgour/Wetlands/Western Environs (now known as Breagagh Valley)
Loughmacask
Kilkenny City Core
A masterplan is being created for Loughmacask. It will feature a large number of new houses, the relocation of CBS Secondary School to Loughmacask, a redevelopment of the St Canice’s Primary school and an active travel connection back to Kilkenny City core.
An extension of the public transport service and greenway system will make it easier for all communities to walk or cycle into the Kilkenny core.
Kilkenny County Council are planning for up to 2500 new houses and two new secondary schools in the Western Environs (Breagagh Valley), a ten minute walk to the Abbey Quarter and it will be linked with car free cycling and walking paths.
With so much emphasis on walking, cycling and sustainable travel, it seems strange to be talking about building more roads. However, the completion of the Northern Ring Road and other critical links will allow traffic that would once have gone through the city to bypass it altogether.
We plan to include pedestrian and cycle focused bridges which will enable people to access the business parks and shopping centres on the opposite side of the bypass.
A New Library for Thomastown
Every community is stronger when it has a library at its heart. The new Thomastown Library supported by Rural Regeneration and Development Funding is due for completion within 2 years. This vibrant new library space will have over 700 sqft of dedicated spaces for children, teenagers and adults. With ICT services , study spaces and meeting rooms, it will also provide a much-needed exhibition and multifunctional space for local creatives.
Built with Shorthand